who fly them have a standard refrain whenever their services are requested. “As we like to say, the answer is two Chinooks; now what’s the question?” said RAF Flight Lt. Dave Grindal, a 27 Squadron member who has 4,000 hours as a pilot on the iconic aircraft. Two helicopters typically are all that’s needed when transporting troops, delivering cargo or evacuating wounded from a battlefield, according to the pilots and crew who fly them. For 35 years, the CH-47 Chinook has answered the call of United Kingdom military needs and humanitarian efforts. It has rushed to battle in the Falkland Islands and in Afghanistan. It has 14 | BOEING FRONTIERS rescued residents in peril when flooding has submerged large sections of the English countryside. It continues to dazzle spectators with its acrobatic nimbleness at European air shows. Developed more than a half-century ago and first used in combat by American troops during the Vietnam War, the medium-to-heavy-lift helicopter has been a resilient aviation presence for this European region. The Chinook has welcomed continual technology upgrades to stay relevant where other aircraft of its generation have put in their service time and been retired. The RAF remains so reliant on the Chinook, in fact, it took delivery in December of the last of 14 new helicopters—the latest Mk6 model with a new, machined monolithic airframe, UK-specific avionics and mission systems, aircraft defensive systems, and interoperable communication and navigation equipment. These newest Chinooks have increased the UK fleet to 60—a total exceeded only by the United States Army and Japanese military. “You get in it and it feels like a proper battlefield helicopter,” said Squadron Leader Hannah Brown, 27 Squadron second in command and one of three female RAF Chinook pilots. “You feel safe inside it. You feel like it’s going to get you home. “The replacement for a Chinook
Frontiers September 2016 Issue
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